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PITTSBURGH — Back in the majors for the first time since 2021, Yohel Pozo could best describe the feeling before starting at catcher and batting seventh Monday for the Cardinals as if it were his first time seeing his name in a big league lineup.

“This feels like a second debut. It feels great. It feels like the first time I've got to the majors,” Pozo said in front of his locker inside the visiting clubhouse at PNC Park.

What he did Monday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates also had a similar feeling to his MLB debut with the Texas Rangers.

Added to the 40-man roster and promoted from Class AAA Memphis on Monday afternoon, the 27-year-old Pozo, as he did as a 24-year-old during the sixth inning of his debut on Aug. 13, 2021, homered for his club.

His home run vs. the Pirates sailed over the left field wall and came in the sixth inning in what was an 8-4 Cardinals loss. It came with around 15 family members in the stands including his wife, Paola; their 5-year-old son, Paul; and their second child, who Yohel said is 9 months old.

“It was super-exciting for me. Super-excited for me that I could be back on the field after so many years. It was special for me,” said Pozo, who also thwarted the lone stolen base attempt against him and noted that he spotted his family in the crowd after homering.

The home run offered a sentimental moment for the newest Cardinals catcher and his family after he, Paola and Paul were homeless and living out of a car in Orlando, Florida, in 2020 when Paul was just a few months old, after the boy had a pediatric stroke.

Before moving to Orlando in 2020, Yohel said he and his family were living in Pennsylvania but moved to Orlando to see another doctor who would evaluate Paul after being told that “everything was fine with” his son. Yohel said Paul was immediately admitted to the emergency room for additional testing once they saw a different doctor in Orlando.

Paul remained in the hospital for a month at a time when Yohel was a free agent and did not have medical insurance, leading him to “run out of money” and for their family to live out of a car once Paul was released from the hospital.

The family now travels together for all  road trips — major league and minor league — to remain together in case of a health emergency for Paul.

“That's the inclination that I have to never go down (to the minors),” Pozo said before Monday’s game. “When I was in the minor leagues, I just was trying to (produce) numbers so I can have a job and the insurance for him and my family.”

With opening day catcher Ivan Herrera placed on the injured list and expected out at least four weeks with a bone bruise in his left knee, Pozo was added to the Cardinals’ 40-man roster and promoted from Class AAA to provide depth behind Pedro Pages. The newest Cardinals catcher joined the team around 1:30 p.m. eastern time Monday after he and the club could not find a flight from Memphis, Tennessee, that would get him into Pittsburgh on Sunday night.

The 27-year-old Pozo signed with the Cardinals in January on a minor league deal after he spent the past two seasons with the Athletics’ Class AAA affiliate. He began spring training in minors camp before joining big league camp as a non-roster invitee during the second week of March.

The opportunity in big league camp helped the Cardinals evaluate Pozo and get a better sense of their depth at the catching position in case of an emergency as they looked to open the regular season with Herrera and Pages as the only two catchers on the 40-man roster.

That familiarity with the pitching staff gained in spring training played a role Monday. Pozo helped starter Matthew Liberatore navigate the Pirates lineup for 6 2/3 innings after the left-hander began the outing by allowing four runs in the first two innings of the start but managed to keep the Pirates to three hits and one run over the final 4 2/3 frames of his outing.

“He's nasty. His curveball combination with the fastball up and the sinker with the slider was really good today. I love what he did today,” Pozo said.

A return to the majors during the Cardinals’ series opener at PNC Park continues a baseball journey that began for the Venezuelan-born backstop in 2013, when he signed with the Rangers as an international free agent. He spent eight seasons in the Rangers system to begin his career.

In 2016, Pozo was investigated for involvement in a hazing incident that was originally reported by Yahoo! Sports. There were no charges filed against Pozo, and the incident is one he said in a 2021 interview with The Athletic that helped him “mature.”

Since turning pro, Pozo has batted .297 with a .331 on-base percentage and a .462 slugging percentage in 758 minor league games. He produced a 2023 season with an .861 on-base plus slugging percentage in 92 games for the Athletics’ Class AAA affiliate and followed it by posting an .873 on-base plus slugging percentage in 90 games for that club the following year but did not get a call to the majors as the number of catchers in their system did not make him the “first option.”

When the Cardinals needed an additional catcher in the majors with Herrera out, he was the first to get the call.

“This is one of the best chances that I've ever had since (2021),” Pozo said. “Since I signed, I feel like they've been treating me really, really good.”